Articles in Long-Term Test Autos

It feels like only yesterday that we took delivery of the Moonstone Metallic BMW 535d in Munich at the BMW Welt. The 5er was something we had waited for with great anticipation, after having spent over two years with BMW’s first clean diesel sedan, the 335d, which was followed by …

The arrival of our 2014 Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec 4Matic was heralded by not one, not two, but over a dozen major snowstorms and blizzards. As we noted before in these pages, it wasn’t the most optimal time to begin life with a long-term test car but those were the cards …

If you’re an automotive journalist who regularly reviews cars, there’s nothing like 14 winter storms in your neck of the woods to stop you dead in your tracks.
Few automakers equip their cars with winter tires and no-season (our term for all-season) tires aren’t effective for driving following a significant snowfall.
In …

One of the many benefits of doing European Delivery is that your car is delivered to you not once, but twice. For our long-term BMW 535d, the first delivery was in late December at the BMW Welt in Munich. The second was at BMW’s flagship dealership in New York City, …

NEW YORK—A 2014 Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec 4Matic sedan is the newest member of The Diesel Driver’s long-term fleet. The Iridium Silver Metallic Benz was delivered to Jonathan Spira, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, on Tuesday.
The E250 is part of a wave of new diesel-powered vehicles that have been put on sale for …

NEW YORK—A Chevrolet Cruze Diesel is the newest member of The Diesel Driver’s long-term fleet. The Tungsten Metallic Cruze was delivered to Jonathan Spira, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, and Bas Alferow, the associate editor, at a Chevrolet dealership in New York on Monday.
Because the Cruze – with the exception of its …

The Diesel Driver’s long-term fleet, which last week added a 2014 BMW 535d, has included the BMW 335d, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, the Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec, the BMW X5 xDrive35d, and the BMW ActiveHybrid 5.
In January, The Diesel Driver will add another long-term car to its mostly diesel-powered fleet. Almost …

MUNICH—A BMW 535d sedan is the newest member of The Diesel Driver’s long-term fleet. The Moonstone Metallic 535d was delivered to the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jonathan Spira, at the BMW Welt here early Friday morning.
The 535d was first announced for the U.S. market in May of this year, shortly after BMW …

The Diesel Driver’s long-term fleet has included the BMW 335d, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, the Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec, the BMW X5 xDrive35d, and the BMW ActiveHybrid 5.
In one month’s time, The Diesel Driver will add another long-term car to its mostly diesel-powered fleet. Almost a dozen new models have been …

Despite the fact that gas-electric hybrids having been around for more than a decade, and BMW has offered one for the better half of one, there remains a sense of novelty to driving a car without the gas engine running. Especially with the soaring cost of fuel, hybrids have been …

BMW introduced its first hybrids, the ActiveHybrid X6 and ActiveHybrid 7, back in 2009. Since then, the luxury segment has seen the introduction of hybrids from a variety of automakers, including Lexus and Mercedes-Benz.
What the ActiveHybrid 5 has in common with its ActiveHybrid predecessors is BMW’s ActiveHybrid branding. Other than …

The 18-month mark of a long-term test car is a bittersweet moment. In one respect, we’ve gotten to know the car really well over the past year and a half. On the other hand, we know its time with us is coming to a close.
Our 2011 Palladium Silver Mercedes-Benz E350 …

38+ MPG Fuel Economy and Superb Handling Make for a Frugal Yet Satisfying Drive
Lake Placid, New York is located in the Adirondack Mountains in northeastern New York State, and is best known as the host of both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games and the site of the “Miracle …

With the start of the 2016 model year, Volkswagen will offer purchasers of almost all of its vehicles the driver-assistance features that were previously only available in its top models.
Saying it wants to democratize the availability of driver-assistance technology, Volkswagen will offer such items as adaptive cruise control, lane departure …

OK, class, please pay attention now. The new Golf SportWagen, which is known as the Golf Variant in its home market and the Golf Estate in the United Kingdom – and was previously called the Jetta SportWagen in the States – is now available for your driving pleasure. Got that?
Given …